Hodgson handed Palace reins

LONDON: Roy Hodgson has been appointed the new manager of Crystal Palace, the English Premier League club announced Tuesday.

The 70-year-old former England manager has replaced Frank de Boer after the Dutchman was sacked following just four league games in charge of the south London club.

“Former England manager Roy Hodgson has been appointed as the new manager of Crystal Palace FC, on a two-year contract,” said a club statement.

For Hodgson, born in the south London suburb of Croydon, managing Palace means the Englishman is now in charge of his boyhood side after a managerial career spanning five decades and 15 clubs in eight countries, as well as spells in charge of four national teams.

“This is very much the club of my boyhood and I remember in my youth watching the club from the terraces at the Holmesdale Road end which gave me such fond memories,” he told Palace’s website. “It is very rewarding to find myself here now, in different times, as the Palace manager at a club that I have always loved and admired with a huge potential.”

Dutchman De Boer was sacked after Sunday’s 1-0 loss away to Burnley meant Palace were the first team in England’s top flight to lose their opening four games without scoring a goal since Preston North End 93 years ago.

But Hodgson, the oldest manager appointed to a Premier League position, insisted the Eagles could bounce back from their woeful start to the season and remain in the Premier League.

“I don’t honestly believe that there is necessarily a lot that needs to be done,” he told Palace TV. “You can always get off to a bad start, (but) what we’ve got to remember is our fate will be decided after 38 games, not four.